Author of three poetry books -- my newest is GODS OF WATER AND AIR, available on Amazon.

Share

Monday, February 04, 2008

The Great Divide

I'm not a political blogger, but tomorrow being Super Tuesday and yesterday being the Superbowl, I find myself thinking about the Great Divide -- the contests we Americans seem to thrive on, often the nastier-spirited the better. Tomorrow those of us in either political party face a Great Divide that has inevitably veered into discussion of personalities, qualifications and character, instead of issues. Yet what do Americans want to hear about most, according to many polls? Issues! We do and we don't. We want all the nominees to be honored, but we only like Winners. It's an adolescent streak our country seems reluctant to shake off, yet it causes us huge amounts of trouble, from a surge in obesity and decreasing health, to a cultural shallowness that has greatly decreased arts education from our schools.

The Great Divide is a divide in thinking. It's the antidote to poetry and art, which seeks unity and harmonies in unexpected places. It's something we're outgrowing, but like all adolescents, the growing pains may be considerable, and last long past Super Tuesday or any other Super event.

About Me

Rachel Abramson Dacus is the
author of the poetry collections Gods of Water and Air, Earth Lessons, Femme au Chapeau, and the spoken word CD
A God You Can Dance. Read her work at: http://racheldacus.net. A widely
published poet, dramatist, and writer, she's working on a novel with a love story involving the great Baroque sculptor Gianlorenzo Bernini.